


The Climb

by AugustStories



Series: Finn & Rory Friendship [1]
Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Set Post Revival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 19:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18723655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AugustStories/pseuds/AugustStories
Summary: Finn gets the chance of a lifetime and asks his friends and family for their opinion before making a choice himself. Only to learn in the end that life doesn't always teach you the lessons you expect.





	The Climb

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a Writing Challenge at the Beginning of this year, it prompted a prequel idea that I will also post.
> 
> Finn was one of my favourite Gilmore Girls characters and I loved the dynamic he had with Rory.

Finn loved Australia.

Born and bred in Melbourne, brought up near the most beautiful bay in the world, surrounded by Australia and the spirit of Down Under from the first breath he had ever taken. He had always loved his home country above everything else, everything he had made in school and college choices in the so far away US, it had always all been on a plan to one day return home. As a thirdborn son and a fifthborn child of Amelia and David Malin, there had never been any pressure or family responsibility on Finn's shoulders, the spoiled baby of the family and fully aware of it. He had always been allowed to form his life after his own dreams and aspirations, especially once his brothers stepped into the family business when Finn was still in middle school.

Freedom and independence.

Andover and Yale, gates to the world and all its opportunities.

He found friends in the States who were just as crazy and independent as him, who wanted to live life and the Life and Death Brigade was the best discovery to stumble into anyway. And even after graduation, Finn felt too wired still to pick a set future for him, he had become too centered in his freedom.

He took up a job in his father's company, just to have the experience and the credits for later, his father – understanding him better than anyone in his family, especially the allure of freedom that he never got to experience as the heir, he lived missed chances through his son now – gave him an ambassador position, having him travel a lot to partners, customers and company branches all over the world. It was an experience Finn would have never wanted to miss.

Then, one day, he found himself in his thirties, sitting in a quiet VIP lounge at the Melbourne Airport, waiting for the first flight on the ever too long trip back to New York where he owned the only place outside of Australia he had come to really call home, next to Colin's and Steph's house in Hartford but that wasn't his. He sat there, staring down at the phone in his hands that was dark again after he had ended the surprise call a few minutes again.

He sat there, knowing that this finished call could be the chance of a lifetime or the biggest regret he might ever have. And Finn had no idea what to do.

\--

28 hours later, completely horrendously exhausted and telling himself for the millionth time that he should take Colin up on that offer of finding him a private jet, Finn closed the front door of his apartment and leaned back against the door, taking a deep breath. He kicked his bag across the corridor to wait for his returned energy at the bottom of the coatrack, only to raise his head slightly and blink at said installment in his entrance corridor.

Next to a blue sports jacket he wore for his morning runs, it wasn't as empty as he had left it, a light green cardigan was hanging right next to it and a tiny blue sweater on the hook at the other side. Finn swept his eyes down and found black sneakers standing next to his running shoes, one of them having been pushed to the side a little by his bag.

Immediately smiling, exhaustion all but forgotten, Finn shrugged off his own sweater and dropped it upon his bag before striding down the corridor. His smile turned into a grin when he heard the quiet giggling from around the corner of the open living room. He swung himself around the stroller by the doorway and then could barely keep his heart from bursting with joy when blue eyes caught sight of him and pudgy little hands started clapping.

"Unca! Unca!"

"My champion!" Finn called out and maybe his body didn't know if tired, exhausted or too riled up by too long flight journeys but none of it mattered when he hurried over to the playpen built up between couch and TV. Grabby hands were reached out and he snatched the toddler up into his arms that no longer felt loaded down with mountains, small arms came around his neck to hug him while the little boy bounced in his grip. "Oh, I have missed you so much, Richie. Where is your Momma?"

Two months had been an awful long time to be non-stop travelling.

"Phone," Richie sing-songed and pulled back from his hug to point a finger towards the closed balcony door behind which Finn could see Rory staring out across Manhattan with her phone at her ear. "Unca, miss, too."  
"Aw," Finn cooed and sat down on the couch so he could set Richie down on his lap and have a hand free to ruffle through the fuss on Richie's head, still so freakishly perfectly blond, "You missed your uncle Finn? That is very nice to hear, champ. Your Momma should have said something about coming to New York again, I would have cut my last trip short."

Richie grinned at him out of those ever too smart looking blue eyes of his mother's, smiling the smile of Rory as well, in a face that otherwise looked like the man who had no idea. Finn understood Rory's decision not to tell Logan that he was the father of her son, Logan was married now, living a life between London and Paris with Odette and Richie's true paternity would only cause too much drama and chaos in too many lives now.

Most of all it would probably destroy Logan's career and Rory didn't want that, so those who knew the truth all kept silent. And of those knowing the truth about a little boy named after a great-grandfather only Finn, Colin and Robert had a tidbit of contact with Logan anyway, then and now, and considering that Logan didn't want to touch the Rory subject more than necessary, it was easy to sell him that Rory had had a child but wouldn't tell the father. Logan didn't suspect his own involvment because of reasons that were beyond Finn who had been all but prepared to make some denying arguments when he had first told his friend.

He was in the process of tickling the squirming fourteen months old when the balcony door opened and Rory stepped back into the living room, she clocked him immediately and smiled, "Hey. I hope the surprise isn't a bad one, I got an appointment with my publisher and Paris' boy is sick."  
"Ey," Finn interrupted her rambling and kissed her head when she leaned down for a brief hug, mindful of Richie chewing away on two fingers, "I gave you a key to stop by anytime without announcing yourself for exactly this purpose, love. And I'm actually really happy to see you, I might have something to talk about."

"Oh?" Rory wanted to know, one eyebrow raised, "That sounds...alarming," she tried but Finn shook his head, bouncing Richie who patted his chest.  
"It's not, don't worry, just gonna fish for a second opinion. After a shower," he added in the end and got back to his feet, setting a mildly protesting Richie back into the playpen, "I'll play with you after a shower, champ, Uncle Finn feels really icky."

"Icky!"

"I'll call us some dinner," Rory told him and then shoved him in the direction of the corridor to get to his bedroom, he was probably reeking of sweat.

\--

After a long shower, a chance of clothes and a good take out dinner, Finn was splayed out over the couch with his head on Rory's lap and a pillow, a good movie running on the TV and Richie giving his own entertainment from the playpen.

"There is a travel opportunity," he started when Rory asked for the third time what he wanted to talk about, blue eyes watched him patiently, "A real good, downright amazing travel opportunity. Contacts made through one of my father's oldest partners. He called me while I was waiting for my flight in Melbourne." He painted the picture for her and smiled when Rory set a hand into his hair, he had never seen her as a potential conquest ever since getting to know her, Rory was a sister to him, one of his closest friends.

"What is it?"

"Nanga Parbat, love,” he told her and grinned when her eyes went wide with excitement for him, it didn't exactly hit her personal interests but she knew he would be all over it. An adrenaline junkie since early childhood, Finn had been hiking and mountain climbing since he was a child, exploring New Zealand with his father and brothers and then later more and more mountain ranges and explorer paths around the world but the Himalayas had never been in reach. “It would be a dream come true. It would of course take much preparation and training but... it's an eight-thousander, Rory, the ninth highest mountain in the world. How am I ever gonna get an opportunity like this again?”

“Oh, Finn, I am so happy for you,” Rory bubbled in happiness and twisted down to hug him, “You have to take this chance, this is too amazing to pass up on. When did you need to give your answer?” She skipped through her words and Finn laughed over her enthusiasm.  
“I got a month to make up my mind and most of all figure out how to confess this to my mother,” he grimaced and Rory laughed loud enough to draw Richie's attention for a brief time.

“You can practice on my Mom because I promise you, she will have her own part to say to that,” Rory chuckled and Finn snorted, Lorelai had been entirely won over by him after he had thrown his full support behind Rory during the pregnancy and by now she was a dear friend with slight mothering tendencies. “How long are you staying in my country this time?”  
“Until the new year, darling,” he gave her the good news, “I only have a few trips within the US before christmas.”

“Which you are totally going to spend with us in Stars Hollow,” Rory decided without leaving any place for arguments, she had been horrified to learn that Finn's family was so strictly liberal and shunned of all religion that he had never even celebrated christmas until he had gone to high school in the US. Both Gilmore women had been unrelenting in wanting to give Finn a christmas of all christmasses to make up for it, he had never managed to be in the US until last year and there he had absolutely refused to become the center of attention when it had been Richie's first christmas.

Seemed he was due this year.

“Looking forward to it,” he promised her and then both of them looked around to Richie when a blue bear had come flying at them, “What conniving attack was that, little Gilmore!” Finn gasped at the smirk on Richie's face and he quickly got to his feet to get revenge.

\--

After having listened to Rory and fake-begrudgingly accepting her pulling out paper to make pro- and con-lists for days while Finn rolled his eyes at a laughing Richie, he was slowly losing the stunned numbness that had swept over him with the call. It got exchanged with bubbling excitement for this chance and he was positively giddy with it by the time he met up with Colin and Robert a few days after Rory had left for Stars Hollow again.

“Oh my god, you're bouncing in place,” Robert snorted when he came into the pub as the last one of their trio, freshly arrived in the city for the first real free weekend in ages. “Isn't your godson supposed to mimick you and not the other way around?” He joked and waved down a barista after having sat down in their booth at the far back, just so they could have privacy to talk. “Come, spit it out before you go through the roof.”

Considering that the pub was located in the sub-level of the McCrae owned hotel in the heart of Manhattan, going through the roof would be quite the challenge.

“I want your opinion on something,” he started and had Colin's and Robert's attention immediately, nothing could get them more interesting than throwing their opinions at something. “I got a chance to first train and then climb an eight-thousander.”  
“Dude, Finn, that is epic!” Colin called out with glowing eyes, never having been much of a sportive guy himself, he had still always supported Finn in his activities, like some snarky money throwing cheerleader that got too easily distracted by something shiny.

“Yes, that's amazing. You're gonna say yes, right?” Robert wanted to know, smiling when the barista brought him his usual, “Please tell me you're gonna say yes because this might never happen again. Which one is it?”  
“Nanga Pabat,” Finn grinned and then laughed when Robert and Colin made noises of amazement, raising their glasses to clink them together in a wordless toast, “And I'm really leaning towards saying yes, even though my mother is going to kill me.”

“Tell us everything about it.”

\--

“This is incredible, Finn, please tell me you are going to say yes,” Logan sounded almost exactly like Colin when they talked on the phone a few days later, Finn packing clothes for a trip to Stars Hollow that Lorelai had guilt-tripped him into and Logan at work still. “You can't pass this chance up, who knows what might happen in a year or two.”

Well, Finn was in no rush yet to settle down like Logan had, that was for damn sure.

“I am leaning more and more towards yes,” he agreed and frowned down at his running shoes, the last time he had visited Stars Hollow and gone for his regular mornings jogs he had been stared at like some exotic creature. But if he said yes, he couldn't stop slacking off suddenly so he shoved them into the bag, “How can I not, right?”  
“Yes, how could you not,” Logan pointed out, he had always been the worst kind of enabler, getting people to say yes to things had been a Huntzberger skill bred into their very blood.

Though admittedly Finn didn't need a lot of encouragement in this.

“An eight-thousander, Finn! That's not something any of us has ever come close to in epicness, or probably will ever come close to. And you love that climbing shit, you have to do it!”

\--

“You should write a book, a diary of sorts, about your experiences training for the big moment and then the actual adventure itself,” Jess mentioned casually when they were out in the frontyard of the Gilmore House, sitting in the grass while Richie toddled after a ball. The open living room window offered a muffled conversation between Lorelai and Rory bickering over some clothes the older woman didn't want to throw out.

“I'm not a writer,” Finn laughed and caught the ball that Richie had rolled over, he softly tipped it back to him, “I am leaving that to Rory.” Finn could barely stand the paperwork that came with his job, he was surely not the guy to start writing for fun now.  
“So make some notes, take pictures, make some recordings, and then let Rory be your writer,” Jess proposed and caught a giggling Richie when he threw himself at one of his favourite uncles. (Finn, Colin and Jess did not have an ongoing competition, though Finn was totally winning.)

“You want Rory Gilmore to write a book about climbing and hiking adventures?” Finn wanted to know in doubt and pure amusement, Rory was a method writer, she needed to experience something even a little bit before writing about it. Over the years she had thrown herself into a lot of questionable situations, best example being her first LDB event, but sports or anything even closely related to sports made Rory Gilmore allergic. “Did I ever tell you about the first time Rory saw my hiking gear in the apartment? Her face couldn't have looked more scandalized, you'd have believed I had been harboring a dungeon in my closet. Took me hours to get her to tell me what the hell had her so twitchy, she thought it was sex stuff, for bondage.”

Jess roared with laughter and Richie clapped, even if he had no idea what they were talking about.

“I'd think about it though, if not Rory, I can surely find you someone else to turn that experience into a book, someone who actually knows what a hiking trail looks like.” Jess offered up with a smirk and Finn rolled his eyes, “And that by the way is my way of saying yes, you idiot, take that chance, make that call and say yes. I know what you've been fishing for in the last hour, so do it, climb that mountain and then come back and watch us all be jealous for the rest of our lives because of that one in a million experience. You'd be stupid not to say yes.”

Finn was about to thank him when the front door opened and Rory came storming out, “Get in here, I need someone to tell that woman to throw out that horrendous sweater! It is a crime against nature.” Words yelled she immediately stalked back inside and Finn and Jess exchanged a look before they groaned and rolled themselves to their feet. Finn picked up Richie who pouted over having to leave the ball behind, Jess pulled out his phone, hopefully to text Luke.

“What side are you picking?” Jess also wanted to know as they dragged their feet as much as possible on their way inside.  
“I'm taking Lorelai this time,” Finn made his choice and set Richie down in the playpen in the living room before following Jess to the kitchen and the arguing Gilmore girls, “I still want her opinion on Nanga Parbat and I'd rather do that without a sweater choice being thrown back in my face.” Jess snorted and then was the first one in the kitchen, ending up with Lorelai basically smothering him in a terribly hideous green sweater to get him on her side.

\--

“So, let me get this straight,” Lorelai began once Finn had told her about his grand opportunity, she was hustling around the sitting room of the Inn and the reception area while Finn had been planted on the bottom of the stairs. New furniture was to be delivered today and Lorelai still couldn't decide how it would be placed. 

The sitting room had to make due without sitting choices for one morning.

Rory had opted out of coming along and was instead visiting Lane and the twins with Richie, so Finn was left alone to follow Lorelai around the rooms with his eyes.  
“You are going to load up a backpack until it weighs like a ton and then you're gonna climb up a mountain to probably not even have a good view because of bad weather. And then you're just gonna climb down again, unless you've stopped breathing up there because hello, not good for humans.”

She didn't like it when someone other than Richie called her anything close to something that resembled grandmother but she had become terribly motherly and fussing since Richie's birth.

“And all of that without a functioning toilet around for miles, and the same goes for a good bed and a warmth, food, coffee and what not, not even speaking of the multitude of actual death dangers lurking out there.” Lorelai listed it all down and Finn was biting back a smile by the time she deemed it worthy to throw him a look again, “Why would anyone want to do such a trip from hell?”  
“You went on a spontaneous hiking trip for self-finding without any preparation, I'll have months of training before I even fly into the Himalaya,” Finn tried to argue, grateful as always that he could at least halfway hold up to both Gilmore women's quick witted fast tongued regular talking speed.

Robert always looked like he was longing for a pause button to catch up.

“Are we implying now that climbing one of the most dangerous mountains in the world is in any way similar to my ill-advised and thankfully well turned out trip?” Lorelai shot back at him and stopped right in front of him so that Finn had to look up for once, “because if that's the case, we're gonna have to have a whole different conversation.”  
“I'm fine,” he pushed the fire of worry down again, at some point between him stepping back into Rory's life post that LDB stunt and Richie's birth, Lorelai had more or less adopted Finn without telling him beforehand. “I'm not having an existential crisis or a nervous breakdown. This is a dream, Lorelai, and it's so close I can almost feel the cold air already. I want this so much.”

“But you need my blessing before you make you that final decision.”

“I don't need it,” Finn emphasized if really hesitant, crooked smile appearing on his lips, “But I'd like it.” He admitted and almost flushed with embarassment when Lorelai's eyes turned fond.  
“Oh, Finnie, of course you have it,” she told him and patted his cheek, “This is your dream and your passion and maybe I don't understand it at all but I'd always encourage you to follow your dreams. This is a golden opportunity and you should grab it.”

She messed up his hair, which he thanked her with a glare, and then swung around again to once more pace into the sitting room.

“But don't come complaining to me if you lose any toes or fingers. Or your nose, your beautiful nose, Finn.” Lorelai sighed and Finn scrunched up said nose as he rolled his eyes, saved from having to comment on that when Michel announced that the furniture guys had arrived. “And now move it, start your muscle training by helping them carry in my new chairs.”

\--

Finn's mother wasn't impressed at all and still encouraged him to do it, didn't want him to have any regrets. His father was all over the moon for him, asking for a travel diary and many pictures to commerate this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

\--

Even before the month was up, Finn made the call and said yes.

Nanga Parbat for the win.

\--

The new year was a mere few days old and Finn still getting used to a life after christmas in Stars Hollow when he made his now daily trip to the gym, morning jogs weren't enough to prepare your body for an extreme climb like that.

Unfortunately, on that day, he never reached the gym.

\--

"How is he, Colin?"

"He's still in surgery. Robert, it's...it's bad."

"On my way. I'll pick Rory up."

\--

Finn woke up and he knew right away that the bubble with his dream had violently burst. He was drowsy and a fog surrounded his senses but he could still feel the IV line at his hand and the oxygen cannula on his face. His limbs, his whole body really, was numb and so heavy but something kept his right leg stiffer than usual.  
"Finn? Are you awake?" A voice whispered on his right and Finn achingly slowly managed to open his eyes, it still took quite a bit longer until Colin came into focus. "Hey, man, can you hear me?" Colin moved his arm and raised it, showing Finn that he was holding his left hand, the one not stuck with needles, and as he saw it, he could feel the warmer touch of someone's else hand in his. "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

It was bad.

If Colin was holding his hand and gently whispering, it was super bad.

Finn still squeezed his best mate's hand and then looked around for a moment, wanted to know more of his surroundings. Not surprisingly, it was a hospital room, the world behind the window was dark and Robert and Rory were passed out on the couch beneath it, her lying with her head on Robert's thighs, a jacket over her.

"It's all gonna be okay," Colin went on and Finn focused back on him, "You're gonna be okay. It's gonna need some time and a lot of physical therapy for sure but you're gonna be okay, Finn."  
"How bad?" He rasped out and Colin let go of his hand to reach for a cup with a straw on a table right next to the bed. He helped Finn up a bit and then held the cup for him to drink, Finn felt so humiliated but the water also felt so good on his dry throat. "How bad, Colin," he asked again when his voice came stronger.

"I won't lie to you," Colin began and Finn knew he had to brace himself, there was only one question in his mind that needed answering, "It's really bad. You got quite the concussion and you were unconscious for three days, we were all worried sick. Your whole right side is bruised, three ribs cracked, your shoulder was dislocated and your elbow nearly so, they had to set it with surgery. And your knee...your knee got hit really badly," Colin stopped to take a breath and Finn glanced down at the splint on his right knee and the bad feeling in his chest got upgraded to horrible, "You'll need surgery again on it and physical therapy but the doctors assured me that in time and with your fitness you will be perfectly fine again. No lasting damage."

"But I can't make that climb."

It hurt.

Of course it did.

But, his mind offered him as his eyes moved away from his battered knee over to where Rory and Robert were still unaware, her hands wrapped around one of his, it could have been worse. It could have been so much worse, that car could have taken him out for good. He could be dead now. He could be dead and he would have never seen his friends again, never seen his family again, never seen Richie grow up and cause mischief. He would have never seen his godson laugh again and call him Uncle Finnie.

He could have died. These people here and so many others could have been standing at his funeral and he was falling into despair over a fucking mountain climb.

"Hey," Colin drew him out of his thoughts, interpreting his silence all wrong, "Finn, look at me." Prompted and followed, Colin set the cup back onto the table and then took Finn's hand again, squeezed, "Yes, you can't make that climb. Not this year, and probably not next year either but I swear to you, Finn, I swear to you that we'll find a way. We're gonna make it happen for you." Colin's eyes were burning with determination and conviction and Finn swallowed against the emotions rolling up his drugged up self, "Don't let that dream die."

"I won't," he promised shakily and Colin smiled before he let go of Finn and got to his feet, walking over to surely wake up Robert and Rory. He wouldn't give up on it, he would mourn this lost chance for a while but he wouldn't give up, he hadn't died even when he could have been killed by that car. He would get through this and then reach for that dream with new strength, and as Robert and Rory both gasped away and then quickly rushed over to him after some words from Colin, Finn knew he had his friends and family right by his side for it.


End file.
